Tennessee Parenting Plan

Tennessee requires a 'permanent parenting plan' on a statewide mandatory form, and that form requires the exact number of days each parent has per year.

Document: Permanent parenting plan
Court: Circuit or Chancery Court
Decision-making called: Decision-making authority
Parenting time called: Residential parenting time

Build your Tennessee residential schedule

Choose a pattern and get the exact overnight counts your permanent parenting plan needs to state.

Schedule pattern

50/50

Each parent keeps the same two weekdays every week and the weekends alternate, producing a repeating 2-2-5-5 night pattern.

January 2026

Parent A
Parent B

Tap any night to switch parents.

A permanent parenting plan is the written document that tells the Circuit or Chancery Court, and, afterwards, both households, where your children are on each night of the year and who decides what. Once the court signs it, it is an order rather than an agreement.

Tennessee uses the term residential parenting time for the time the children spend with each parent, and decision-making authority for the authority to make major decisions. Drafting in the state's own vocabulary avoids questions at filing and makes the plan easier for the court to read.

What a Tennessee plan needs to cover

Residential schedule

Which parent the children are with on every night of the year, including how the regular rotation works and when it starts.

Holidays and school breaks

How Thanksgiving, the winter holidays, spring break, summer and each child's birthday are divided, and how the rotation alternates between years.

Exchanges and transportation

Where exchanges happen, at what time, who does the driving, and what happens when someone is running late.

Decision-making

Who decides on education, medical care, religion and activities: jointly, or with one parent having the final say in specific areas.

Communication

How the parents contact each other, how each parent contacts the children during the other's time, and what counts as an emergency.

Changes and disputes

How the parenting plan gets changed later, notice periods for relocation, and what the parents will try before returning to court.

Filing in Tennessee

Custody and residential parenting time matters in Tennessee are heard in the Circuit or Chancery Court. Forms, filing fees, mediation requirements and local rules differ between counties, and they change, so confirm the current requirements with the court where you are filing before you prepare anything final.

The Tennessee judiciary publishes its current forms and local rules at tncourts.gov. CustodyPlan is not affiliated with any court.

Choosing a schedule that works in Tennessee

The schedule is the part of the plan you will actually live with, and the part every other section depends on. Start from your children's ages and the distance between the two homes, then pick the pattern that fits both.

Tennessee questions

What is a permanent parenting plan in Tennessee?

It is the statewide required document setting out the residential schedule, decision-making authority, child support and dispute resolution. Tennessee uses a mandatory form, so your figures must transfer onto it cleanly.

How many days does each parent get in a Tennessee parenting plan?

The Tennessee form asks for the number of days per year with each parent. By statute, a day is counted when a parent has the child for more than half of a 24-hour period, which usually, but not always, tracks the overnight count. Use the builder's overnight totals as your starting point, then check any day-without-an-overnight arrangements against the statutory definition before you enter the final figures.

Who is the primary residential parent in Tennessee?

It is the parent with whom the children reside more than 50% of the time. Where the schedule is exactly equal, the plan still has to designate one parent for specific statutory purposes.

What is a Tennessee permanent parenting plan called on the court forms?

Tennessee refers to it as a permanent parenting plan, filed in the Circuit or Chancery Court. The state uses "decision-making authority" for decision-making authority and "residential parenting time" for the time each parent spends with the children. Check the current forms published by the Tennessee judiciary before filing, as forms and local rules change.

How many overnights do I need for a Tennessee plan?

Whatever your schedule actually produces, and the plan should state it precisely. In most states the overnight count feeds into the child-support formula and into how the arrangement is classified, though a few states, Texas among them, set guideline support from income alone. The calculator on this page gives you the exact annual figure for the schedule you choose.

Can I write my own permanent parenting plan in Tennessee?

Parents routinely prepare and file their own agreed plans. Where Tennessee publishes a mandatory or preferred form, work the schedule and figures out first and then transfer them onto that form. Having an attorney review the plan before you sign is advisable, particularly if the two of you disagree on anything substantive.

CustodyPlan is a document-preparation tool, not a law firm. We do not provide legal advice, and using CustodyPlan does not create an attorney-client relationship. We are not affiliated with any court. Have your completed plan reviewed by an attorney or your local court before filing.